Ischia Bravo

District 15 City Council Race: Altagracia Soldevilla on Fighting for Her Neighbors & Being the Anti-Establishment Candidate

By MICHAEL HOROWITZ
Altagracia Soldevilla is proud to be labeled an anti-establishment candidate in the upcoming District 15 City Council special election. She stresses that her only allegiance is to the people in the largely Latino district. “If I am elected to the City Council on March 23, I will be fighting for my neighbors and others in the district, many of whom are struggling to survive, especially in the midst of the pandemic,” Soldevilla said, in a telephone interview with the Norwood News.   Soldevilla, who works as an adjunct at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, traces her political philosophy to


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UPDATE: Northwest Bronx Democrats Endorse Fernando Cabrera for Bronx Borough President 

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The following is an extended version of the story that appears in our latest print edition in which Norwood News takes a closer look at some of the candidates endorsed by the Northwest Bronx Democrats over the years, including one who attended a Proud Boys rally.   Local political organization, the Northwest Bronx Democrats (NWBx Dems), announced on March 16 that they have chosen their candidate for the position of Bronx borough president, and have thrown their support behind the city councilman for the 14th District, Fernando Cabrera.   Anthony Rivieccio is the founder of the organization which has approximately


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District 15 City Council Race: “Our City” Endorses Crespo, Plans to Spend Five-Figure Amounts in Ads

By SÍLE MOLONEY
As candidates step up the pace in the final weeks ahead of the District 15 City Council special election, which takes place on March 23, Elisa Crespo, an education liaison to the Bronx borough president, received another boost to her campaign with news that the progressive group, Our City, is backing her as their first choice candidate in the race.   According to the group’s website, Our City is a project to win a progressive governing vision for New York City in 2021, centered around the agendas and voices of citywide grassroots movements. “Leading up to the June 22 Democratic


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Update: District 15 City Council Race, Ischia Bravo & Elisa Crespo Garner Additional Endorsements

Community Board 7 Finds New District Manager...Again
By SÍLE MOLONEY
Yesterday, March 8, on International Women’s Day, State Sen. Gustavo Rivera, City Councilman Brad Lander, and The Jewish Vote (TJV) announced ranked choice endorsements of certain progressive women candidates ahead of the Bronx special elections on March 23 in District 15 and District 11.   According to a joint press release, with early voting starting on Saturday, progressives are looking to support transformative candidates and send more women to represent them in the City Council. Rivera, who represents the 33rd senatorial district in the Bronx, and TJV, a project of Jews for racial and economic justice, announced on Monday a


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Update: In District 15 City Council Race, Samelys López Endorses Elisa Crespo

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Elisa Crespo, education liaison at the Bronx borough president’s office and candidate for City Council in the 15th District race, for which a special election has been called on March 23, has been endorsed by Samelys López, Bronx community organizer and former Congressional candidate. López, who was profiled last year by the Norwood News, won around 14 percent of the final vote in a crowded 15th congressional district primary race in June 2020 which was ultimately won by then Councilman, and now Congressman, Ritchie Torres, who went on to win the general election in November.   López announced her endorsement of


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Update: In District 15 City Council Race, Congressman Adriano Espaillat Endorses Oswald Feliz

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Congressman Adriano Espaillat (D-NY13), the nation’s first Dominican American elected to Congress, announced on Feb. 18, his endorsement of Oswald Feliz in the upcoming City Council special election for the 15th District in the Bronx. Feliz, a tenant lawyer and Hostos Community College adjunct professor, previously profiled by the Norwood News, served as a campaign aide to Espaillat in the past. Feliz has also received the endorsement of Bronx Assemblyman Victor Pichardo and the Northwest Bronx Democrats.   Espaillat described Feliz as someone who has spent his life in the Bronx, and deeply understands the challenges local families face. “He understands the


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Update: District 15 City Council Race: Ischia Bravo Receives Endorsement of Several Labor Unions

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  District manager for Bronx Community District 7 (CB7) and Democratic candidate in the 15th City Council District race, Ischia Bravo, has secured the support of several major labor unions with just weeks before the special election is due to be held on March 23. Bravo is running to fill the seat of former Councilman and now Congressman, Ritchie Torres, who was elected to Congress in November 2020.   Bravo has secured the support of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), the Laundry, Distribution and Food Service Joint Board, Workers United, SEIU;


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Update: District 15 City Council Race: Ischia Bravo Gets the Nod from Bronx BP, Ruben Díaz Jr.

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  District manager for Bronx Community District 7 (CB7) and Democratic candidate, Ischia Bravo, received another boost to her campaign to fill the seat of former Councilman and now Congressman, Ritchie Torres, in the District 15 City Council race, when she was endorsed by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr on Jan. 19. “Ischia Bravo has the energy and experience to represent The Bronx in the New York City Council,” said Diaz Jr. in a written press release. “As a product of public housing and public schools, she understands the struggles that Bronxites face every single day, and as district


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Biden-Harris Campaign Surrogate & Obama White House Alum, Troy Blackwell, Joins District 15 Race

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Troy Blackwell, a former aide on the Biden-Harris campaign and an Obama White House aide, announced his candidacy for New York City Council District 15 in the Bronx on Monday, Jan. 18. According to Blackwell’s campaign, he issued the announcement on Monday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.   Observed each year on the third Monday in January as “a day on, not a day off,” MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities. AmeriCorps has been charged with


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